Russian’s invasion of Ukraine has not been going as well as Vladimir Putin may have liked. He reportedly fired a ton of secret agents recently, hoping to blame them for his failures. Now this: A Russian ship, whose inhabitants were memorably told where to go by Ukrainian sailors in the early days of the conflict, has fulfilled its natural destiny by sinking into the sea.
As per Mediaite, the Moskov, a cruiser first launched in 1979, has plummeted into the depths of the Black Sea off the coast of Sevastopol, Crimea’s largest city. The ship had suffered a mysterious explosion, and while it was being dragged back to port for repairs, it simply sank. Russian authorities claim the cause was ammunition on-board catching fire. The Ukrainian government say it was felled by their own artillery.
The Moskov became an international laughing stock after in the early days of the invasion when a small group of Ukrainian soldiers, defending the Ukrainian-controlled Snake Island, told their enemy combatants, “Russian warship, go f*ck yourself!” The phrase quickly became a Ukrainian rallying cry. It’s also been turned into T-shirts, which have been sold to support various humanitarian causes connected to the invasion. It was even commemorated on a stamp.
The sinking of the Moskva — the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet — suggests that it will be difficult going forward for the Russian navy to not only launch amphibious attacks against Ukraine, but also to defend other ships.
The news was cheered by many on social media, some of whom joked that it had been “promoted to submarine.” Surely Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump have been left verklempt.
(Via Mediaite)